A Delaware man was sentenced to 24 months in prison on felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the Jan. 6, 202 storming of the U.S. Capitol.
Hunter Seefried, 24, was sentenced in the District of Columbia. He and his father, Kevin Seefried, 53, both of Laurel were found guilty on June 15 by U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, who sentenced Hunter Seefried Monday. Kevin Seefried is to be sentenced on Jan. 20, 2023.
According to the government’s case, Hunter and Kevin Seefried attended a rally near the Ellipse on Jan. 6, 2021, and then headed to the U.S. Capitol. They illegally entered the Capitol grounds and joined a crowd of protesters heading up the steps of the building. People near Hunter and Kevin Seefried broke windows with a police shield and a wooden two-by-four, and Hunter Seefried cleared a large piece of glass from one of those windows to clear the way.
After the glass was broken, the Seefrieds and many others entered the building starting at approximately 2:13 p.m. The Seefrieds were among the first people to enter the Capitol on January 6, prosecutors reported.
The elder Seefried was photographed inside the building holding a Confederate flag. The photo came to symbolize the extreme elements storming of the Capitol in an effort to overturn the election of Delaware’s Joe Biden to the nation’s highest office.
While in the building, both defendants were part of a larger group of individuals who verbally confronted several U.S. Capitol Police officers near the entrance to the Senate Chambers, according to court documents.
Hunter and Kevin Seefried were arrested on Jan. 14, 2021, in Delaware. A co-worker told the FBI that Hunter Seefried had bragged about being involved in the storming of the Capitol.
Both Hunter Seefried and his father were found guilty after a bench trial of the felony offense of obstruction of an official proceeding, and four misdemeanor offenses, including entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol Building; disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building. McFadden acquitted Hunter Seefried of three other related charges.
Following his prison term, Hunter Seefried will be placed on one year of supervised release. He also must pay $2,000 in restitution.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Assistance was provided by U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office and the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which listed Hunter Seefried as #18 and #41 on its seeking information photos, and Kevin Seefried as #30. Assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 21 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 880 individuals have been arrested in nearly all states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 270 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation is ongoing.
